Since Long Ago
by TaintedMoonlight
Summary: Temari and Shikamaru’s relationship was one a long time coming. One that started since LONG ago


**Since Long Ago**

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Shikamaru ambled about lazily, thinking carefully. His feet led him automatically to the roof of the building he'd always go to think ever since he was a child.

A lot of 'life-altering' things, spanning from his childhood to now, had happened to him on that very roof.

He stared half-interestedly at the sky, not focusing at all on his surroundings. Which is why he didn't notice someone else was on the roof too until he was…attacked. A strong gust of wind swept at his feet and knocked him off balance causing him to fall flat on his back.

A vindictive chortle reached his ears.

He sat up to find a large metal fan propped at his feet open to reveal one star. Temari's arms rested comfortably on the fan, her head resting on her bent arms with a self-satisfied smirk on her lips. "You should watch where you're going."

Shikamaru scowled. "You should watch where you're waving that thing."

Temari smiled wryly.

Shikamaru's lips too twisted up into a smile as he recalled having this exact same conversation with her before.

The very first one they'd ever had.

**xXxXx – **_**A week before the last phase of the Chuunin exam (the matches)**_** – xXxXx**

Shikamaru grumpily made his way up the stairs to his cloud-watching building.

Every time Ino, Asuma, or Chouji saw him they tried to coerce him into training for his match.

Pfft. Like he _wanted_ to train.

So what if he made it to third exam?

It made no real difference.

There was no reason why he should train for it.

What did it prove?

Absolutely nothing, that's what.

You didn't practice for real battles for weeks before it took place. You didn't know who your opponent was going to be.

Not in real life.

This was not a very good aptitude test of his skills.

Anyone's skills.

His feet crunched on some dry dead leaves on the roof as a heavy gust of wind blew at him and propelled him forward.

Shikamaru collided painfully into someone.

How the _hell_ could a wind blowing at his front push him _forward_?

The person he'd landed on shoved him off rather roughly.

Shikamaru groaned as his back collided with the floor.

Damn it all.

He stood up to find a furious woman glaring at him.

She had golden blonde hair tied into four spiky ponytails, vicious sea-foam green eyes, a domineering pushy scowl, a large open fan in her right hand, and a Suna ninja plate hanging around her neck.

She was the most frightening thing he'd ever seen.

But, Kami, was she pretty.

He scowled as that last thought entered his mind.

"You should watch where you're going." She accused, her voice laced with fury and irritation.

He glared at her. "_You_ should watch where you're waving that thing." He motioned to her fan. "Just like a woman to accuse another for their stupidity."

Her green eyes narrowed dangerously. "You…" The grip on her fan tightened briefly then relaxed. The deadly glare, though, remained perfectly clear. "Come the battle, boy, I'll break every bone in your body."

He'd seen her fight Tenten, and he would admit she was strong, but break every bone in _his_ body? He doubted she could even come close to winning against him if he really tried. He smiled then, briefly (and a mistake when he looked back on it), but she still saw; she saw it very clearly and her eyes darkened.

This girl wanted to kill him.

"Overestimating your skill will only leave you dead." She threatened. "I'm not like the _stupid_ genin kunoichi in your village. All exceedingly pathetic, _especially_ that idiot blonde – _slapping_ her opponent! Hah!

"I'm not like them, boy. I WILL win and you WILL be sorry."

Despite himself, her words pissed him off enough to let the anger show in his eyes.

She smirked at his reaction and closed her fan with one hand, not even taking her eyes from him. "Bye, bye, little boy." The blonde sand kunoichi sauntered down the stairs, a swing to her hips, which his eyes followed involuntarily.

Fuck it all.

The girl had pissed him off; he would train and beat her _so_ bad.

She'd insulted Ino.

For all his complaints about her (and his slight agreement that the slapping thing WAS a pathetic move), Ino was his friend (since they were kids!) and like he would with Chouji, he'd stand by them.

No one insulted his friends.

Damn sand bitch.

**xXxXx – **_**Present**_** – xXxXx**

She snapped the fan closed effortlessly. With even less effort it seemed than she had exerted so long ago. "Oi, get off the floor." She grinned down at him. "How lazy you are. Unwilling to even move a muscle. Just like at the Chuunin exams. All you wanted to do was like on the floor as everyone threw trash at you."

"Yeah, but you lost."

She raised an eyebrow. "_I_ lost?"

**xXxXx – **_**3**__**rd**__** Exam**_** – xXxXx**

Hah!

He'd caught her.

Shikamaru smirked and stepped to the side so he could see her expression.

So he could see the snide, self-confident smirk fall off her face as the realization that she had lost fully entered her mind.

She was fighting his jutsu with every fiber in her being, he could _feel_ it.

And as she stepped out from behind the fan to mirror his movement, he could _see_ it.

The denial in her eyes.

The refusal to accept.

His smirk didn't change as he let her see how she'd failed, how she'd lost.

How her threat to break every bone in his body had proved to be false.

He moved forward, the next move etched clearly in his mind.

One that would humiliate her. Would _humble_ her. Would make her lose her damned attitude.

But.

Her eyes.

There was absolute horror in her eyes. She really hadn't prepared herself for this outcome. She honestly couldn't see herself losing to him.

She was still fighting it now.

Desperately, pleadingly, hopelessly.

She knew she was lost.

He raised his hand slowly.

The blonde mirroring his action.

Her eyes clenched shut and the fight grew stronger.

She couldn't let herself lose.

He paused.

Only slightly.

To let himself think about it. To analyze the situation.

It only took him 5.7 seconds to come to a conclusion.

Damn sand bitch.

"I lose. I give up." He said clearly.

Her eyes opened wide and she stared at him in pure shock.

The people who'd been on the edge of their seats, watching the match groaned in frustration.

"W-What did you say?" She asked quietly, still incredibly shocked.

Shikamaru quickly drawled something about lack of chakra. "I can only hold you for an additional ten seconds." He paused, a small idea worming about in his mind. "See, I've thought about 200 possible moves, but times up." The shock was so clear on her face. "It's too troublesome to do more. One match is good enough for me."

He could see it in her eyes. That bit about 200 moves was bothering her to no end.

As if he really had 200 moves up his sleeve.

Maybe ninety-two if the wind blew in just the right direction, but not 200. The truth was that a good faction of his genius lay in lies.

"Winner, Temari." The proctor announced with a smile.

He couldn't _believe_ he'd just given up the match.

Damn woman.

**xXxXx – **_**Present**_** – xXxXx**

"You didn't beat me." He said to her matter-of-factly.

"But you gave up; you ran out of chakra." She pointed out.

A small smile splayed on his face.

Oh, yeah.

He gave up.

Stupid option really.

"Or was I right?" she inclined her head, "when I confronted you after the match?"

"Confronted?" he scoffed. "You wanted to _kill_ me, woman."

She smirked. "Some things never change."

**xXxXx – **_**After Giving Up the Match**_** – xXxXx**

Naruto was practically running off to warn Kakashi about him.

About the red-head.

He was worried Sasuke might be in danger.

Hell, Shikamaru would be worried too.

A large iron bar collided with the wall, making a hole in the concrete. impeding him from going forward and continuing after Naruto.

Naruto looked back at him.

"Go on." Shikamaru said to him. "I'll catch up later."

The holder of the iron-bar was the woman he had just let win the match – Temari.

Her green eyes were furious.

"You let me win." She said angrily

Kami, you'd figure she'd be happy about winning.

Women were impossible.

"What makes you think that?" he asked lazily.

She removed her fan from his path and instead used it to push him up against the wall. "Don't irritate me, boy. You _let_ me win. Why?"

"I didn't—"

"I don't need your pity."

"Look, woman, this is pointless. Just get out of—"

She pressed the fan harder against his chest. "I didn't need or want you to do that. I win on my own, and I don't need an idiot _boy_ to let me win because he thinks the male population is better and takes pity on the _poor_ woman. Got that?"

"Move. Your. Fan."

She complied. The anger still in her eyes. "You're pathetic. So moronic that you couldn't even be bothered to finish. Lazy idiot."

He moved from the wall and turned his back to her. "And yet," he said softly as he walked off, just loud enough so she could hear, "lazy and idiotic as I am, you couldn't win with me going easy on you." He felt the anger pulse of her in waves. "200 moves, Temari."

"You _did_ let me win!" She accused angrily, her suspicions confirmed.

He turned his head to look at her. "I didn't say that. You can't officially 'win' unless you beat your opponent. You failed to do that."

He then followed after Naruto.

**xXxXx – **_**Present**_** – xXxXx**

"So was I right?" She asked seriously.

Shikamaru yawned. "How should I now? According to you, it's _you_ whom knows everything and I know naught."

"Of course." She smirked.

"And that's why everyone is irritated by you."

"Psh. Everyone LOVES me."

"Yeah, right." He muttered, even though that statement was very true.

**xXxXx – **_**After the Failed Sasuke Retrieval Mission**_** – xXxXx**

Shikamaru was slumped in a chair by Chouji's hospital bed watching Ino gush over Chouji's appearance.

He'd been thinking a lot over what had happened.

The failed mission.

His injured comrades.

Shikaku's accusations in the waiting room.

…Temari's presence.

"_Damn_, boy!" A loud feminine voice exclaimed in astonishment from the doorway. "You look like a twig."

Shikamaru turned his head to see Temari, a fruit basket dangling from her fingertips.

She looked down at the fruit. "Now that I see you, I think fruit was a bad choice. You need bread, chocolate, and fried stuffs."

Ino bristled. "He looks good. In fact," Ino gave Chouji a pointed look, "if he watched what he ate he could stay this way and look better all the—"

Temari waved Ino's words aside. "Better? _Pfft_! Boy looks like a twig. He needs some weight on him. Skinniness is so fucking overrated. Who wants to look like a walking talking stick?" She dropped the basket by the bedside table. "You could use a little extra weight too." She said to Ino.

Shikamaru held back a smile. Nobody'd ever said that directly to Ino's face.

"You," Temari continued, "are way too skinny."

"_Skinny_?!" Ino screeched "I'm FAT! I need to lose another ten pounds."

Temari sat on the empty bed opposite Ino and Chouji and crossed her legs. The sand-nin stared at the skinny blonde. "You realize, Yamanaka, that by saying just that, you are accusing every kunoichi – almost every female – in not only this village, but in my own of being clinically overweight?"

"I'm—"

"Because compared to them, you're damned skinny. The Hyuuga girl is overweight by your standards."

"I-I'm not…" She crossed her arms. "That's not what I mean."

Temari sighed. "You're not fat, Yamanka. You're a skinny and very pretty woman. Would be prettier if you let yourself eat. As it is, you look like you could break. And he," she inclined her head to Chouji, "looks just fine the way he _normally_ looks."

Ino stared blankly.

Chouji smiled and took and apple from the basket. He looked at Shikamaru. "I like her."

Temari smiled wryly. "I like me too."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Ino asked, almost in a friendly way.

Temari smirked ever-so-slightly. "Wanted to see the boy who made that baka," she pointed at Shikamaru "cry."

Ino's eyebrow's raised dramatically, "Cry?"

"_Cry_?" Chouji reiterated.

Shikamaru blushed slightly and grumbled bitterly under his breath.

"The baka bawled his eyes out."

"I did _not_." Shikamaru retorted.

Temari smirked, "Whatever, crybaby."

Ino smiled evily.

Oh, kami, Shikamaru would get hell for this later.

Ino might even tell his mother.

Temari stood up. "Well, I'll be seeing you. I just stopped by quickly," She shrugged, "I need to run an errand. Kankuro wants…eh, something or the other."

Ino smiled. "Will you be staying long?"

"A few days."

Oh, kami, Ino had a new girl friend.

And it was that _creature_.

"Maybe you can show me around, Yamanaka."

"Call me Ino."

"Ino."

Temari smiled and headed out. She paused at the doorway. "Gain that weight back soon…Aki—"

"Chouji." His friend replied warmly.

"Chouji." He could hear the smile in her voice and watched her walk off.

Still a slight sway to her hips.

"I really do like her." Chouji smiled.

Yeah, she seemed to have that effect on _everyone_.

**xXxXx – **_**Present**_** – xXxXx**

Shikamaru leaned back down and stared up at the sky perfectly aware Temari was still standing at his feet.

The blonde sighed and he could hear her drop the heavy fan to the floor. "You are _troublesome,_ you know that?" Temari said to him.

"I don't — WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Shikamaru was blushing horribly, his face stark red.

Temari was _straddling_ him, a self confident smirk upon her features.

_She_ was straddling him.

The blonde creature was straddling _him_!

"You have to go after what you want. No matter how unlikely it may seem."

**xXxXx – **_**The Day Before Temari and her Siblings Leave After the Failed Sasuke Retrieval Mission**_** – xXxXx**

Temari sat down beside him.

Shikamaru eyed her and diverted his gaze back to the sky.

"Yama-_Ino_ is looking for you, you know. Something about your mom."

"Troublesome." He murmured.

She poked him in the ribs. "Oi, come on, Shikamaru, what's up?" Her eyebrow furrowed. "You aren't still thinking about that mission are you?"

Shikamaru didn't reply.

Temari sighed and lay back so their faces were directly side-by-side. She watched the sky critically. "The problem with you is that you're so dammed lazy, and that made you forget all about fighting." She turned her head to look at him then. "Nothing is easy. Being a shinobi isn't easy. Having friends isn't easy. _Life_ isn't easy. It all SUCKS. The only thing is you have to work hard to protect what you love and get what you want. It isn't going to just _happen_.

"You aren't going to wake up one day and be the Chuunin you want to be. The Chuunin you're _supposed_ to be. You have to learn from your mistakes. Train your ass off. You have to work at it.

"You have to go after what you want, no matter how unlikely it may seem."

He eyed her. "How many times are you going to lecture me?"

A small smile. "Until it gets through your thick head."

Shikamaru smiled back.

**xXxXx – **_**Present**_** – xXxXx**

Shikamaru stammered uncontrollably. "B-B-But what the – the – on top of me!?!"

She grinned down at him. "You're cute when you stammer."

Shikamaru just stared at her, all his thoughts completely disappearing. So much for his brilliant IQ.

She leaned down and whispered in his ear, her lips brushing against his skin. "So has it gotten through your thick head yet?"

"H-H-Has w-what g-gotten through?"

She rolled her eyes and pushed herself off his chest.

The blonde woman picked up her fan and strapped it to her back. "I won't wait around forever, Shikamaru." The blonde stepped angrily down the stairs.

Shikamaru swallowed.

Damn, Suna bitch.

He scrambled up and followed after her.

**xXxXx – **_**When Naruto Returns After Two Years**_** – xXxXx**

"Such a what?" Shikamaru asked her purposefully.

Temari blushed. "Figure it out. You're the genius."

"I don't know everything."

The blush on her face was still visible. "Not like it matters."

He shrugged.

It did matter.

"It doesn't." It really did. "I just want to know."

"What the hell do you want to know such a stupid thing for?"

"I just do."

Temari stiffened and looked him right in the eye. "Why don't you just tell me how you feel?"

Shikamaru dropped his eyes to the ground.

_Because I can't._

_Because you're something special._

_Because I'm afraid of what could happen._

"I **feel**, sleepy."

Temari gritted her teeth and sighed angrily. "You fucking _idiot_." She turned on her heel and stalked off.

"Temari!" he called after her.

"Leave me alone, Nara."

**xXxXx – **_**Present**_** – xXxXx**

"_Temari_!" he called after her for the sixth damn time. The woman refused to turn and acknowledge him.

"Leave me alone, Nara."

He sped up briefly. Shikamaru grabbed her shoulder and turned her around, holding her in place. "_Damn_, woman, I don't understand you at all."

She shoved his arm off her shoulder. "Exactly. You don't get me and you sure as hell don't try, and you're only following after me because I got angry. Just — ergh!"

His eyes narrowed. "I don't _understand_ you because one minute you're on top of me and the next you want to kill me.

"But I know _you_.

"You're kind. You're blunt. You're honest. You're strong. You're hard-working. You never give up. No matter what happens you can always manage a smile. And deep down all you want is for someone to acknowledge and accept you for everything you are."

Her eyes lost their angry edge.

"And I haven't tried because I'm afraid. Because I'm an idiot who won't do anything unless he's sure he'll win. Because I want _you_ to acknowledge and accept me." His fingers entwined in her hand and she blushed. "Because I love you."

She grinned then, but the blush didn't fade. "Silly, Jounin. I already accept you and I've acknowledged your genius for ages. Probably given you too much credit for it. And there's no need to be afraid." With her free hand she pulled him close by the collar of his shirt. "I've loved you since that day you fell on top of me. That's why I tried to show you up when I was young, show you I cared when I grew up a little more, pushed you to become stronger some time later, and tried to make you see the truth now." She kissed him softly. "Silly, Jounin.

"Besides, you've loved me since _long_ ago, Shikamaru. You just wouldn't admit it."

Shikamaru blushed.

Damn Suna bitch.

She had him all twisted around her finger.

And he liked it that way.

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**A/N:** Soo…What d'ya think? 


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